Given his status as a West Ham legend and cult hero, it feels appropriate that Julian Dicks is talking about getting hammered.
Not on the pitch and not even in an east London boozer, he means it in the sense of Millwall fans hammering him – by throwing both words and heavy items at him.
This Saturday, the two clubs on either side of the River Thames will play each other for the 100th time but the first in 14 years. It is possibly the fiercest rivalry in the United Kingdom, depicted in the Green Street and Football Factories films as hooligan central.
‘You used to get absolutely f***ing hammered,’ Dicks tells Daily Mail Sport in an interview full of laughs, memories and quite a few F-bombs. ‘And I have no doubt it puts people off their games. No doubt whatsoever.
‘The Old Den was brutal, there was a real hatred. It was horrible. You’re coming out of the tunnel, they’re spitting on you, they’re saying they’re going to kill you, they’re going to do stuff to your mum, they’re going to give everything towards you. You either f***ing take it to heart or you laugh about it.
‘It’s very, very volatile. I remember playing at the Old Den, I think it was 1989 and Paul Ince scored, and I got hit with half a house brick when I went up for a corner!’
West Ham legend Julian Dicks has some colourful memories of playing against Millwall. The local rivals meet this weekend for the first time in 14 years
The former left back made more than 250 league appearances for the Hammers in two stints in the 1980s and 1990s
Ever since West Ham were relegated, this game – which will be free-to-air on ITV at 12.30pm – has been at the forefront of supporters’ minds. The Met Police have made special preparations for the match, with officers permitted to remove anyone causing disorder within a radius stretching from Bermondsey to Blackheath, and Wapping to Nunhead.
They will have 400 police on the ground and will use live facial recognition technology to identify potential trouble-makers. In 2009, 54 West Ham fans were banned for life in a League Cup game against Millwall dubbed ‘The Upton Park Riot’.
Dicks knows all about the trouble and hopes the players understand the magnitude of the game. ‘I remember once we beat them 1-0 and us going up to clap our fans,’ explains the former full back, who made more than 300 Hammers appearances and also played for Liverpool and Birmingham.
‘We’re walking back and all of a sudden, about 30 police were running up with their batons and shields. I remember thinking, “What the f*** are these doing?”. They’ve put the shields above our heads because the Millwall fans were just pelting us with everything. Coins, marbles, everything you could think of, it was thrown at us.
‘To be honest, I always looked forward to playing against Millwall because you knew that you were in for a game, you knew that the atmosphere would be f***ing horrible and nasty.
‘On the pitch, all the players would give everything they had. They would kick you, they would elbow you, they would do anything to put you off your game. And it’s the same with the supporters.
‘I went back to the New Den when I was coaching and I got off the bus and this old girl with a lovely voice shouted to me saying, “Julian? Julian?”. I’ve looked round and she’s said, “You’re a f***ing w****r!”. And she was about 75… You never lose it!
‘And then when my daughter was younger, I walked around where I live with her in a pram and a bloke stopped me in a van. He went, “Are you Julian Dicks? I’m a Millwall fan. I f***ing hate you but I wished you played for Millwall”.’
Dicks is supporting the Every Minute Matters campaign in association with Sky Bet and the British Heart Foundation
‘I went back to the New Den as a coach and this old girl shouted to me: “Julian? Julian?”. I’ve look round and she’s said, “You’re a f***ing w****r!”. And she was about 75…’
Unlike other big rivalries in the UK, such as the Old Firm, this one is not about politics or religion – both sets of fans are very alike and from the same backgrounds. It is hooligan-orientated: wanting to have the hardest firm.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s Hammers had a false start to their return to the second tier, not winning any of their first three Championship games, but they have been perfect ever since and travel to the New Den top of the league.
Alex Neil’s Millwall, third last season, are 11th having conceded 13 goals in their last five league outings.
‘There’s no reason why West Ham shouldn’t win the league,’ adds Dicks. ‘They have a good squad but the only thing that lets teams down is work-rate. Obviously, there’s lots of goals in the team of late. But it’s about doing it every single game.
‘I go back to Frank (Lampard) at Coventry last season. He didn’t have the best players, he didn’t have the biggest budget but, f*** me, they worked hard. And they got their rewards.
‘West Ham do have a big budget and good players, and now they just need to add that other ingredient.
‘If they do, I have no doubt they will go up. People say it might do them good to go down, it don’t do you no f***ing good, I can tell you! It’s awful to go down but hopefully they bounce back.
Tim Breacker, George Parris and Alvin Martin of West Ham confront Alex Rae of Millwall in a feisty league match in November 1992
The Met Police have been planning for the clash for some time and will have up to 400 officers on the ground around the game
‘Jarrod Bowen will have (father-in-law) Danny Dyer in his ear telling him about all the old days. I remember when I signed from Birmingham, supporters let me know how much this game meant to them.
‘I don’t mean it in a horrible way, but I used to have fan mail saying: “We want to f***ing beat Millwall, you understand?”
‘There is a lot of hatred between the fans. Players like Jarrod know that and hopefully he tells the players. Because, listen, Millwall will be bang up for it.’
As part of the Every Minute Matters campaign, Sky Bet and the BHF have assembled football’s ‘toughest ever’ five-a-side team to tackle fears around using defibrillators, after 69 per cent of fans said fear could stop them using one during a cardiac arrest. Sky Bet’s funding is helping the BHF deliver 400 defibrillators to local communities which will improve the survival chances of around 460,000 people in the UK.
